On Saturday afternoon the House of Manannan
reverberated to the sound of a lively Sea Shanty band which was performing as
part of the weekend of celebrations launching Frances Wilkins' latest book, 'The Smuggling Trade
Revisited'. Frances gave a public lecture followed by book signing at the Manx Museum on Friday evening (26 November) and
also signed books at the House of Manannan on
Saturday afternoon. Visitors also enjoyed a free tot of rum - duty paid of
course!

These celebrations also marked the opening of a small exhibition on 18th Century
smuggling in the Irish Sea, in the foyer of the House of
Manannan, Peel. The exhibition is designed to
introduce visitors to the smuggling of that era by explaining the trade
connections of the Isle of Man and the conditions that made it an attractive
location to store goods prior to smuggling them into England, Scotland, Wales
and Ireland.

The display shows how the
smuggling trade attracted non-Manx merchants to the Island as well as Irish
boat men who were favoured to transport the cargoes of tea, rum, brandy, tobacco
and silks and land them as contraband on the shores of the Irish sea. It touches
on the importance of smuggling in bringing about the political changes of 1765
when the Duke of Atholl with financial compensation lost possession of the
Island to the English Crown.

"The display has been mounted in conjunction with Frances's book launch to
highlight a fascinating aspect of Manx history. Frances has drawn extensively on
the archives in the care of the Manx National Heritage Library in preparation
for this book. In so doing she has made use of newly available source material
which casts fresh light on the truly international links of the Manx merchants
who supplied the smugglers."

Frances Wilkins added:

"The weekend's celebrations went very well, a highlight being the
contribution of the band at the House of Manannan on
Saturday afternoon which played atmospheric and uplifting music. Seeing visitors
enjoy the exhibition and then ask me genuinely interested questions helped make
all the research and writing worthwhile."

Festive Shopping Evenings with Manx National Heritage10 November 2005Manx National Heritage is continuing the tradition of opening the Manx Museum and House of Manannan for festive shopping evenings in November and December, with mulled wine and mince pies and local musicians providing superb Christmas entertainment. [More]